Breaking Boundaries
by Greensneakers1998
Summary: Jane and Lisbon go undercover for the FBI a married couple. The boundaries between the Reality and the Cover become blurred in this multi-chapter fic. Or are the two just a lot closer than the pair think. K right now but very likely to go up.
1. Chapter 1: Affinity

**Starting a new multi-chapter fic is a bad idea but hey-ho I'm going to do it anyway! Someone somewhere has probably already done this, but I like the idea to much to let that stop me. **

Trying to concentrate on her paperwork when it was getting darker and she was tired and irritable was hard enough, but Jane was on a mission, it seemed to make it even harder. He was humming and muttering some old track loudly with his hands situated behind his head as he laid the length of his couch.

The rest of the FBI agents were packing up for the day, mainly milling around and chatting with their co-workers before heading home for the evening.

Teresa Lisbon gave Jane a pointed stare, but his eyes were lightly closed, fluttering as he murmured lyrics breathily. She cocked her head, looking at how peaceful he looked, she almost felt bad for what she was about to do, but not bad enough. Lisbon pushed away from her desk as discreetly as possible to free her legs without drawing his attention before aiming an aggressive kick at the dark leather couch.

Jane grunted indignantly and turned onto his side, facing the back of the sofa, his right arm hung limply over the end of it at a weird angle. Lisbon waited to see if he would dare. Sure enough, he did, he begun to hum and murmur once more. It might have just been Lisbon's imagination and irritable state but she was almost convinced he was being even louder now.

She clenched her teeth, very nearly growling aloud. Jane was deliberately winding her up, as per usual. Lisbon lifted her foot and gave him a firm sharp stab to the lower back. She was oblivious to the amused looks a number of their colleagues were giving her and Jane.

Jane grunted again, waving her away with a weak hand gesture.

"I know you know exactly what you're doing Jane!" Lisbon hissed, "Can't you go be a pain in someone else's arse for once? Why did you have to move the couch over here?"

"Gets more light," Jane explained with a tired sigh, still not facing her.

Lisbon scanned area of the bullpen quickly, her eyes resting on the couch's previous home that was perhaps 5 or 6 yards. Personally, she could see no difference in the amount of light in comparison with the couch's newly allocated patch of floor.

"Just be quiet if you're not going to be helpful." Lisbon said with a heavy exhale, going back to her paperwork, spinning a biro in her hand.

Jane huffed, sitting up dozily. His waistcoat was undone and his hair mussed up in a mess of fair curls. He rubbed a sleepy eye like an overgrown toddler. He looked innocent and almost sweet, and Lisbon smiled despite herself.

That didn't last long though. Lisbon's face fell and she looked ready to murder him and dump the remains when he leant over her, breathing down her neck.

"What case?"

"The Gerard case." Lisbon replied shortly. They had just finished working on the murder of a 27 year old female state employee who had died seemingly in a struggle to protect a stack of top secret files.

"That's irrelevant; I wouldn't bother with that bit." Jane pointed to a section of Lisbon's report.

"I have to put it in Jane." Lisbon clenched her fist, "That's my job."

"Well I think that's stupid." Jane said, buttoning up his waistcoat.

"It's protocol, of course you'd think it's stupid." Lisbon smiled, shaking her head slowly, starting to write on the report form once more.

Jane responded with a non-committal noise as he moved to stand beside her, even he couldn't argue with that. "You should-"

Lisbon cut him off, "Stop it, you're making me edgy!"

"I make you edgy?" Jane sniggered.

Lisbon gritted her teeth, though she wasn't really annoyed, she sucked in a breath, nodding slightly, "Honestly… yes!"

"I knew that. I bet sometimes you can't relax for hours after I've messed with you." Jane nodded seemingly apologetically.

This was a change. What was he up to? "Yes actually." Lisbon said cautiously.

"You're very tolerant to have dealt with it for over a decade."

Teresa Lisbon stared at Jane as if he had grown a third eye, "Yes."

"I bet just thinking about the way I make you feel has you lying awake at night." Jane said completely seriously.

"Yes!" Lisbon agreed before she could think, "Wait, what?"

Jane broke his cool façade and burst with snickers, his face stretching into a wide open shining grin. His eyes tightly closed as he shook with laughter.

Lisbon punched him in the arm solidly, her face slightly flushed as she tried not to convey how embarrassed she was, "Don't put words in my mouth." She growled.

"Lisbon, Jane." Abbott's voice sounded, carrying across the bullpen, they turned their heads in unison to face him.

"My office, right now." He ordered before striding away.

Jane and Lisbon shared a look. Jane raised an inquisitive brow at her as if to say '_what's this about I wonder'_, to which she responded with a cock of the head, '_let's go find out'. _ She jumped into action and set off on a path to Abbott's office with Jane following at a leisurely pace.

Once they were settled opposite Abbott with the office door closed he began, "Ever heard of Stone Brothers?"

"That's the gang in Houston started by Daniel and Dean Stone sometime in the early 70's?" Lisbon nodded, recalling all she could about the criminal.

"The word gang perhaps not quite suiting these guys," Abbott placed two shots of well-dressed clean-shaven men in their early 50s in front of Jane and Lisbon, "They served in the US military in their late teens, these guys are trained killers. Trading in drugs, information, stolen goods." Abbott tapped the photos, "They're too careful. They've got enough money and power to get others to do the dirty work for them. They have influences reaching half-way across the globe, if not further. These guys are not thugs, at least they don't so. They like to think of themselves as gentlemen."

"Intelligent gangsters," Jane smiled, "I bet they've got the Houston police wrapped around their little finger, haven't they? Big guys in the federal government are losing control." Shooting Abbott a look he knew would annoying him. Abbott stared right back.

Lisbon rolled her eyes, "With all due respect sir, why are you telling us this?"

Abbot broke the cold stare he was giving Jane, "I'm getting to that," He placed another two photos under the first two, "Both the brothers have a number of illegitimate children but these two are the sons of Dean Stone. Cal and Nick Stone, Cal's the older brother."

Jane picked up Cal's photo and squinted, "Indulged as a child, a bully, petulant, malicious and selfish he lives off his father's money and security. Never married. Never had a committed relationship. But his brother…" Jane picked up the image of Nick, "Bullied by his brother. Insecure but intelligent. Scared of his own family. Introverted. Isolated."

"He's a hacker. Used to be a 'Hacktivist'. Released some sensitive government information as a teenager but there was never enough evidence to take him to trial. He isn't a public as his brother, no flashy parties, no criminal record because we've never had anything on him. He's the weak link. He's you're target."

"Like a pack of wolves going after the smallest bison." Jane commented.

"Wait..?" Lisbon leant forward, "'OUR' target?" She pointed from Jane to herself.

"We need Jane and yourself to go undercover." Abbott stated.

Lisbon's eyes widened, then squinted, "You're kidding?"

"I don't kid Agent."

"Jane's a liability at the best of times! How am I meant to control him out in the field?" Lisbon lamented.

"Liability? Control me? Ouch." Jane feigned mock hurt.

Abbott held up his hands, "Jane's not an agent," He began.

"Exactly!" Lisbon exclaimed.

"This is what will sell it. Lisbon, you've got the whole demeanor of a law enforcement officer, except when you're with Jane. And Jane nowhere near seems like he could possibly be working for law enforcement. Not to mention his ability to get anything he wants out of anyone he wants."

"But sir, he's a civilian. He's not trained."

"At this point Lisbon with two failed undercover missions and a seriously close call with an infiltration team two years ago, the regional and federal government are willing to try anything."

"Why us?" Jane asked.

"There's got to be a better option than us?"

"You're better qualified than you think for this. I read both your files before coming to a decision. Jane, you already managed to pull off faking a breakdown and, Lisbon, your death, if I recall correctly. I know you'll be able to sell the story convincingly. Jane, like I said, can get valuable information without even asking questions. You two are our best bet." Abbott concluded. Taking a small silver key out of his breast pocket he unlocked his top desk draw. Pulling out two large envelopes, he gave one to each of them.

"What about the stuff about Red John? Past cases in California? Anyone with Wi-Fi can find out who we are."

"That's been taken care of." Abbott reassured them, "Now, these are highly sensitive documents. They go missing and there's no mission. Learn every tiny detail, do not open the file in public, and do not lose it! Doing so will earn you a extensive suspension. You have a week to prepare. Your briefing is first thing Wednesday morning. Don't be late." That last part was undoubtedly pointed at Jane.

"Sir, I really think…" Lisbon began to protest again.

"You may go now Agent." Abbott interrupted.

Lisbon grudgingly got up and followed Jane out the office clutching her envelope. She reached her desk and dropped it onto it with a huff. That's when she heard the unmistakable sound of paper being torn. Her head snapped round to where Jane was now flicking through the contents of his envelope.

"Hey," Lisbon hissed, "Jane! That's top secret. Put it away."

"Meh," was Jane's only acknowledgment that she had even spoken, "Not sure I like my name. Do I look like a Harry Tyne to you?"

"There are people around."

"They're FBI as well, what does it matter?" Jane didn't even look up and continued to leisurely skim read the sensitive file as though it was the morning news.

Great, Lisbon thought, it's not even been five minutes and he's already breaking protocol, "It just matters okay Jane. What if one of them is dirty?"

"They're not." Jane said unswerving.

"How do you know?" Lisbon leaned over and swiped the file from Jane's hand. Jane protested, but then his eyes fell on her envelope. Teresa tried to snatch it before he could but he was too fast.

"Now you're going to get both of us suspended." Lisbon didn't have the energy to try and snatch this file off him as well, and it would only draw the attention of the last few agents milling around to the both of them.

Jane opened the brown packaging like a child opening a present on Christmas. Slipping the file out, he read the first load of information, and said factually, "Oh look. We're married."

Lisbon's eyes widened, tugging the papers her was holding into her eye line, she read _'Elizabeth (Lily) Tyne'._

"Well this just keeps getting better doesn't it." She said exasperatedly, wondering why the idea of pretending to be married to Jane, though it made her uncomfortable, she couldn't bring herself to hate.

'_I know you'll be able to sell the story convincingly'_ was what Abbott had said. Lisbon couldn't help but wonder now what he's meant by that.

**Drop me a review if you want me to continue. I don't think I'll bother if there's not enough interest. Thanks a bunch for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Sentiment

**WOW! The response to the first chapter was so overwhelming! I've got a page or 2 full of emails to prove it. Thank you guys all so much for the support. I've loved these two for years. I'm going to try and make this the best undercover Jisbon fic you guy have ever seen because you've all been so awesome with reviews and follows and stuff**

**Disclaimer: You are all well aware that I do not own The Mentalist I'm sure!**

**Just going to warn you guy that I am English so if I use any British terms like 'loo' instead of 'toilet' or 'tea' instead of 'dinner' I apologise in forethought for that.**

**Listening to –More Than Words by Extreme**

"I think I can pull off the psychiatrist thing. How hard can it be right?" Jane took another huge, lazy bite out of his sandwich.

The pair were curled up at either ends of Lisbon's couch flicking through their cover files. Trying to memorise what they could.

"It is kind of your speed, you have to admit."

Jane shrugged, pulling a face, "I never really liked the whole Doctor thing though... How is it my 'speed' exactly?"

"You know," Lisbon paused, like it was obvious, "Messing with people's heads."

"You want tea?" Jane asked, he knew he couldn't fight that logic, hauling himself off the couch and straitening his jacket. He made his way toward the new kettle he'd bought Lisbon.

"How am I supposed to be a dentist? I know nothing about medicine."

Jane waved her worries away with his hand as he stood and watched the kettle boil, "The Feds will supply you with anything you need to know to keep the charade up I'm sure, and you do have lovely teeth."

Lisbon frowned, "Thanks?" she said, masking a blush.

"We'll be fine! It'll be fun." Jane was almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I still don't understand why they're sending you in though?" Teresa Lisbon pulled her jumper closer around herself and peered over the back of the couch at Jane, "Maybe their secretly hoping that'll you'll get yourself killed so they don't have to go to the trouble." She smirked.

"Very funny Lisbon, but no, I suspect it's because they've realised the Stone brothers are smarter than they thought, and know a federally trained agent when they see one. We, however, have always done things in a slightly more unorthodox fashion. " Jane babbled, gently pouring the heated water into a mug, breathing the fumes in deeply.

"'We?' I think you'll find it was you who did all that stuff." Lisbon stretched and repositioned herself on the couch, "I just didn't stop you."

"Liar, liar." Jane smiled thinly, avoiding her gaze, and her eyes narrowed. He finished stirring his brew and with a tap of the teaspoon on the edge of the cup made his way back to the couch. Sitting down with a sigh and let the cushions envelope him.

Lisbon decided it was best not to pursue the conversation further, "So, shouldn't we look over the target now? Check out background information."

"Like I said yesterday, the guy's…"

"Nick Stone." Lisbon intercepted, opening her mission file.

"Yes, him, the guy's obviously isolated, insecure, probably a bit of a pushover."

"He's an accountant actually, lives at 122 Rosewood Street, Lake Jackson, married to Ali Stone, one daughter named Violet, and … oh…" Lisbon squinted at the file, which peaked Jane's interest. He, what could only be described as scuttled, round the couch to peer over her shoulder.

"Interesting. He adopted his brother, Cal's son, Oliver. I wonder what caused that. Hmm…" Jane mused.

"Hold on. I have Oliver's mother's name somewhere." Lisbon grabbed her laptop off the coffee table and was swiftly typing the name 'Yvonne Gordon' into the search engine. The internet was ripe with results on Oliver Stone's mother, her brief relationship with Cal Stone, her death, and the custody battle for Oliver that followed. Lisbon clicked the second result, a local news site.

Jane moved once again to sit next to Lisbon, his mug still clasped in his hands.

"Poor Oliver." Jane muttered as he skimmed the article.

"Hi mother dies when he was ten, his father refused to take responsibility for him, big court case but it's the uncle, our target, which ends up with custody." Lisbon read as though the words caused her physical pain, "That's terrible. The man was so afraid of the responsibility of fatherhood he spent thousands on a court case he didn't even need."

"I've heard of custody battles to spend more time with a child, I've never heard of one where both sides are fighting over not having the child."

"That's got to do some damage to a ten year old."

"It's a shame. He looks like a nice enough kid, if in need of a bit of grooming perhaps." Jane smiled sadly, and brought his index finger up to meet the point on the screen that displayed a olive skinned, terribly scrawny boy, wearing an over sized iron man shirt. One of his glass green melancholy eyes was hidden by his sleek mop of almost coal black hair. He was being hauled along by a woman who was obviously some sort of social worker.

"Probably better off with an insecure uncle than a violent father." Lisbon stumbled slightly over her own words and sucked in a breath, the conversation had just got a little too close to home.

And Jane knew it, "Oh! Almost forgot. I've got some things we should take with us." He hoped these would cheer her up. Digging around in his pocket he drew out a small white envelope, and handed it to Lisbon.

"What's this?" Lisbon smiled as she broke the paper, the laptop forgotten on her lap. She let the contents slip out into her hand. Her smile widened, "When's this from?"

Jane excitably pointed at the first photo of the pair of them, "That's from the benefit party. You know… where the safe got broken into and there were all those diamonds. Cho took it."

"I'd forgotten about that."

"Well… I thought since we're supposed to be fake married, it might be sensible to have some real photos of the both of us around the fake home, just to add to the real."

"Do I get to keep it?" Lisbon asked, trying to to seem like she was pleading.

"Yeah, it's your copy. I've got one." Just as well Jane was good at hiding his true emotions. He didn't want Lisbon knowing that he had a small collection of photos and trinkets pertaining to her and the team. He was more sentimental than they knew. He'd kept the diamond necklaces he'd bought Grace and Teresa. Photos from Teresa's birthdays, a Christmas card from Grace, a paper plane he'd thrown around with Wayne Rigsby four years ago, and a rare photo of Cho smiling. What he'd lost had taught him to enjoy the little things.

**Yes, the photo is actually a real photo although I forget which episode it was in… Something ...something ...'Rubies'...**


	3. Chapter 3: Poignant

**Loving this story! Can't stop writing it actually.**

"You're late." Lisbon chided as Jane swept into the briefing room with his usual façade of candour.

Jane seemed to ignore her comment, as he straightened his jacket and sat down. He looked up to see Abbott regarding him with a cool simmering glare.

"Morning," Jane greeted him with a grin.

"Let's begin," Abbott said coldly, getting up to stand beside a small smart board. Surveillance images of the entire Stone family were already staring back at Jane. "Like we discussed, Nick Stone is your target. We will be placing you in his street, at 123 Rosewood Street, the house opposite his family home."

"Which family members live there?" Lisbon questioned, squaring her shoulders and clenching her jaw a little, as she always did when she was concentrating.

"Apart from Nick Stone, the residence is also inhabited by his wife, Ali Stone," Abbott pulled up a surveillance image of a petite dark haired woman in her late twenties, "and their one year old daughter, Violet Stone, as well as Oliver Gordon-Stone. His brother's, Cal Stone's, son."

"Yeah, we read that part of the file." Jane said impatiently, "What I want to know is how exactly you expect us to get hold of his accounts book?"

"I'm sorry?" Abbott frowned.

Jane stood up and walked toward the board, standing the other side of it to Abbott.

"Jane, sit down." Lisbon groaned inwardly.

"It's obvious." Jane paused, putting his left hand in his trouser pocket, and lifting a finger up to point at Nick Stone, "He's an accountant. He may not look like much of a criminal, but he's the reason you can't get anything on any of the Stones. He does whatever he has to do to make sure any shady business is covered up in their financials. They're too intelligent to keep incriminating information on a computer that could be hacked, but they have to keep a log of who owes them somehow. If you get Nick Stone's accounts book, you can take them all down." He smiled at Lisbon triumphantly.

"Stop being a Smartass and sit down," Lisbon told him, amused. Jane shrugged and did as she said.

"You have a few days to prepare. You'll be dropped off at 123 Rosewood Street with a moving van, for obvious reasons, at seven am. You have to pull out all the stops to try and create a friendly relationship with Nick Stone or his wife, and some point they're bound to invite you over, and we'll use that opportunity."

"Sorry, but Sir, that could take months!" Lisbon panicked. She couldn't miss months of her life to play house with Patrick Jane.

"Are you prepared to do it or not, Lisbon? Because I need you to do this, we need Jane in there and I don't think I can send him in without you." Abbott explained with dark eyes.

Jane leant over and patted Lisbon's arm gently, "It'll be fun."

"Also," Abbott coughed to gain their attention, "We've decided you should use your own Christian names for this assignment. If you're slow to respond to your cover names we have a big problem. You'll be keeping the surname 'Tyne' of course."

"Good," Jane leant back in his chair, "I don't look like a Harry."

"You don't look like a Patrick to me either," Lisbon shrugged.

"Really? What then?"

"Maybe a Samuel,"

"Really?" Jane scrunched up in face in obvious disdain.

"Agent!" Abbott called.

"Sorry sir," Lisbon apologised.

* * *

"Can we have a dog?" Jane asked suddenly, it was early the day before the beginning of the assignment and Lisbon and he were sat in Abbott's office once again.

"Why do you want a dog?" Abbott said, as he passed them an envelope containing necessities such as driving licences, bank details, and a marriage certificate.

Jane thought for a moment, "I just feel like we should have. People with dogs are often considered approachable, it might be helpful." he reasoned.

"Jane, I don't care. If you can find and buy a dog and all the stuff it needs in the next twelve hours then I don't see why you can't take it with you. Just make sure to use the cover bank account." Abbott sighed, handing Lisbon a small box.

"What if I don't want a dog?" Lisbon crossed her arms defiantly, ignoring the little box.

"Don't worry, I'll walk it. And you do, you'd a love a dog, you've wanted a puppy since you were a girl, you're just trying to assert yourself." Jane smiled.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. I can see it. You know you can't lie to me Lisbon." Jane got out of his chair and grabbed his jacket from the back of the seat.

Only then did Lisbon realise she was still holding the tiny black box Abbott had given her, it was rounded and soft to touch, like a box made for earrings or a ring. She opened it carefully to reveal two rings. One was white gold with one larger diamond centered among two smaller ones, an engagement ring; the other was a simple pale gold wedding band.

"They should fit fine. You can both go." Abbott reassured her. Lisbon stared at them for a second, before lifting her head to nod at Abbott. He called out for Jane to stay as Lisbon walked out the office door.

"Jane you know I also have…" Abbott began holding out a small ring box identical to Lisbon's.

"I'm fine," Jane held up his already adorned ring finger, and averted his eyes.

"Take it anyway. It's no good to me." Abbott placed it in Jane's reluctant hand. Jane slipped it in his pocket and swiftly left.

"Come on." Jane told Lisbon, placing a hand on her back and steering her toward the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"Dog Shelter." Jane said in a matter of fact tone as they entered the elevator. Jane had been right about Lisbon, she did secretly quite like the idea of a dog, but her lifestyle hadn't really allowed the possibility.

Unable to help herself, Lisbon opened the ring box and stared at the contents as the elevator descended. The sight of them ignited a strange feeling in Jane he couldn't quite explain, and what he did next he did on auto pilot.

"Here," Jane took the wedding band out of its box and taking her left hand gently, he slipped the ring onto her finger, lingering for a second. "Did you know that the reason we wear it on this finger is because it was believed that there was a vein in that finger that lead directly to the heart." He turned her hand over, so her palm faced skyward, and rested the tip of his thumb at the base of her ring finger, "It's completely fictitious, but poignant, all the same." Jane let her hand slip out of his grasp.

* * *

Lisbon was in her element, crouched on the floor surrounded by puppies, she was holding a cute and fluffy little boy that was desperate to clamber further into her arms. The puppy was no longer than two of her hands, and she could feel his bones through his skin and fur.

"What do we know about that one?" Jane questioned the young, blonde, skinny man stood next to him in an unflattering mustard coloured 'Houston Rescuers' polo shirt.

"He can't be more than four months, if that; he's small do it's hard to tell. He was brought in two weeks back with two others, not sure of the breed, almost definitely border collie, with a bit of spaniel in the mix somewhere, though the reddish-brown colouring is unusual for that mix."

Lisbon stood up with the puppy cradled in her arms "Someone just left them?"

"Yup," The man confirmed, his arms crossed, "In a cardboard box in Sam Houston Park."

"Has he got a name yet?" Lisbon shifted the puppy as he went to lick her face.

"One of the rescuers daughters called him Saxon. She said it means Sword."

"I like Saxon." Jane smiled, rubbing the puppy between the ears. His eyes joined Lisbon's.

"Me too."

"You guys want to sleep on it?" The guy asked.

"No, any chance we could take him today?"

"Uh … yeah, sure, sure." He stuttered, "If you come with me to sign the paperwork and everything, Mr …uh?"

"Tyne. Patrick Tyne that is." Jane said, and turned to give Lisbon a wink before heading off to do the paperwork. The sky outside was growing darker and darker.

Lisbon sighed, holding up the puppy in front of her, "So this is what my immediate future looks like huh?" She brought Saxon in for a cuddle, "Not bad at all, hey Saxon?"

Saxon responded by licking her chin before she could escape and nuzzling into her neck with his tiny wet nose and sneezing on her.

"This is going to be fun." She muttered, and even she was not completely sure whether she was being sarcastic or not.

**Next chapter will be the first day on the assignment so click that follow button if you haven't already!**


	4. Chapter 4: Delicate

**Hilarious that I finished this chapter just before going onto tumblr and finding out about 'violets'! So excited for that episode and I'll be getting up at 6 tomorrow just to watch 'White as the driven snow' before school.**

**I think we're moving a little up to T this chapter friends! And definitely next chapter!**

Jane stretched and let out a satisfied groan, the tension in his back relieved, as he clambered out the passenger seat he'd been trapped in for about 45 minutes, the stop made had been for Saxon to relieve himself, rather than for Jane to stretch his legs, "Home sweet home, right Honey." He joked.

The sun was newly risen on their left; it was a cloudless day in Texas.

Lisbon rolled her eyes as she slammed her car door. She opened the back seat and grabbed her bag, "Can you just stop being a pain and get Saxon?"

Upon hearing his name the puppy yelped from the car boot and jumped up against the back window of the SUV. Jane opened the boot quickly and grabbed Saxon as the fur ball jumped out at him, claws digging into Jane's new dark suit in an effort to cling onto his new friend, making Lisbon turn away to face the house and smile.

"Close one," Jane muttered, detaching Saxon from his suit and tucking the puppy under his left arm, he slammed the boot with the other hand, before moving over to Lisbon. The moving Van pulled in behind the car on the long driveway with a couple of creaks and squeaks from the brakes. Jane looked at the house and sighed peacefully.

It was a large four bedroom detached with an acre of land and a pool round the back enclosed in a conservatory. The walls were brownstone and an archway led to a front door painted a demure blue colour. Ten years ago Jane would have hated it, but now, the house appealed to him a lot more. It was large and expensive and yet it didn't scream the fact. The most recent long term inhabitants had been a rich elderly couple who after spending 30 years in the place decided to move to a smaller home in a smaller town, leaving a younger couple a slightly garish and outdated interior to redecorate before they moved on few years later and so the house had recently been tastefully modernised slightly inside before being obtained by the FBI.

This was it. For however long it took to finish this mission every waking moment of his life he was for all intents and purposes married to the woman who was stood next to him. Someone who he trusted above anyone, and was steady and settled and everything he wasn't. She was someone who'd always been determined to do the right thing, the moral thing. Something he'd always had trouble with. She'd seen him in some of his darkest moments, when he'd rediscovered the memory of his family's murder, and shattered all over again, and when she had looked into his tempestuous eyes and known that he was about to take the life of the man who had done it. He'd killed a man in cold blood, a horrible, evil man, but still they were another human being and he still had not hesitated to soak his hands in their blood. But Teresa Lisbon's face had still lit up upon seeing him again. She'd kept all his letters. And she'd bought him socks for his cold feet when no one else had cared.

He couldn't mess this up, and he couldn't put her in danger. This time he was determined to behave a little better, but that didn't mean he could misbehave a little in other ways.

Placing a hand on her waist he pulled her a little closer, "I've got a plan."

Lisbon tensed a little at his touch, but relaxed just as quickly upon subconsciously realising that if he wanted to put his hand on her waist she wasn't going to stop him, "Oh yeah," She was interested to see what he had to say about the mission.

"Yes, I've got big plans for this garden."

"Oh, Jane!" Then she did something Patrick Jane wasn't expecting. She laughed, a real genuine Lisbon laugh, with shining eyes and a cute scrunched up nose. The sound seemed to resonate through him in way that was so warm and pleasantly unexpected he shuddered with a strange sort of bliss. He hadn't felt that since … never mind, just a long time ago, and to be honest, it scared him. Something in him had just moved or cracked or something, he was sure of it, he'd always had good self-awareness, but he just wasn't quite sure what it meant.

Then was when he looked a Teresa Lisbon, and really looked hard. Like he had the first day he met her, except now the recent death of his family wasn't clouding his view, and he scared himself all over again. When he'd met she was just another cop, another face that wasn't one of the ones he'd have given anything to see again in that moment. But now, if he thought hard, there wasn't one face he could think of he'd rather see now. She was it, his best friend, family, partner, he had the rest of the team and he loved them in his own way, but Cho and he were just a tad out of sync, and he hadn't seen Rigsby and Grace in a long while.

Jane had only taken into account Teresa's appearance periodically, he'd always been aware of it but never really thought about what that meant to him, like when Mashburn had been after her, or one of the few times he'd caught her out of uniform. When she'd been suspected of murder and they'd been waiting for her murderous psychiatrist to turn up at her house, he'd got a hell of an eyeful as she'd walked past him in nothing more than a large football jersey. He'd chastised himself for looking perhaps a little too hard at her legs. After all, he may have at that point still considered himself taken, but that sure as hell didn't make him blind! He'd had to take a deep breath and stare at a wall for a minute or so to regain control. He'd been rather ashamed back then, so he couldn't figure out why he wasn't ashamed to look now. There were boundaries he couldn't ...no, wouldn't break.

She was wearing a humble navy dress with a grey blazer. Jane wasn't used to seeing her legs or the shape of her waist and it made his collar feel a little tighter, it was embarrassing how such little things could make him sweat.

He noticed she was staring at his quizzically, and he snapped back into reality with ease, "Shall we?" He asked holding out his arm.

"Lead the way," She motioned for the moving men to follow them with the first boxes.

"Feels weird?" Jane asked.

"Definitely." Lisbon confirmed.

It took the rest of the morning and a huge chunk of the afternoon to get all the boxes in the right rooms. The moving men slowly filtered away and drove off. Leaving the Jane and Lisbon surrounded by boxes and furniture draped in dust sheets.

Jane wandered upstairs to have a look around as Lisbon began to unpack an order. He'd seen photos but being there in person was better. He peeked his head in the master bedroom, which was to be Lisbon's room, a large room with two long, curtained windows and a king sized bed frame and mattress, before trying the next bedroom along, his bedroom, a slightly smaller but still large and cold looking space with queen sized bed frame and mattress.

He let his feet lead him in, he breathed in the cold and stagnant air, he walked casually over to one window and flicked open the latch to let a little air in. Clambering on the slightly squeaky mattress he curled up. He couldn't get comfortable. With a sigh he put his feet back down the floor and left the room.

Strolling past Lisbon's room he peeked inside again. In there it was warm and a blanket lay invitingly over the far end of the bed. With at quick glance behind him he softly trotted in, grabbed one of her pillows out of a nearby box, and climbed onto her bed. He pulled the fuzzy red blanket over himself, and buried his face in her pillow for a quick nap.

**I will update soon! **


End file.
